Hard Times Cafe

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Somehow we went into the bar. Ordered beers and asked why no one was eating
Turned out the restaurant is next door. They moved our beers and brought out the wonderful 5 way Cincinnati. Yum. And very nice waitstaff.
Please don’t review this business if you received a freebie for writing this review, or if you’re connected in any way to the owner or employees.

EVERY WEEK… EVERY SINGLE WEEK… I read the full page ad in the local paper’s Big Deal Coupon Book… and every time it reads «Specials are for Dine-​In ONLY.» You don’t want my business. You don’t want my money. I am not welcomed at your restaurant simply because I am a Take-​Out. I am a TO GO customer. WHY must I be charged FULL PRICE? You think I’m nuts? You think I’ll ever be a customer? And be gouged on pricing when OTHERS get a break… get a discount… because they sit down and eat there? Forget it.

The food and the grill cooks and servers are the best extremely friendly very helpful with advice on what to order and they always give you a great deal. The only complaint I will ever have about this restaurant is the younger manager that is working there. He refused to honor a coupon that I had that was valid and had not expired for a free chili mac the manager proceeded to give me five points off instead of honoring the free coupon the manager would not even have the courtesy to come on but instead declined it at a distance as he hid in the kitchen

This place is the better of the two Hard Times located on Route 1. Excellent staff at this one, nightlife is good, and the DJ plays better music. The food is okay… but I typically don’t think of Hard Times as a place to go sit down for dinner.
Somehow this Hard Times has succeeded in mixing a billiard hall with a club that includes all kinds of people just having a good time together.
An easy way to separate the two Hard Times’ places is this: if you’re not a big fan of ethnic groups, if you are a motorcycle enthusiast, or if you prefer to be around more country-​inclined folks, go to the one located near Stafford. If you don’t care about those previous qualities and just want to enjoy a good time with a nice group of people, come to this one.
The staff at both locations are quite welcoming to everyone from all different walks of life — it’s just for some reason the other one seems to attract a more specific type of clientele (could be because the other location had only those types folks when Fredericksburg was much smaller).

I’ve been coming here for years. Never disappoints. Comfort food to the max. Now it’s even better because they closed off the bar/​pool area from the restaurant. Staff is always friendly and helpful.

I only go to the bar side so I can’t comment on the service on the restaurant-​only side.
I like Hard Times. The beer is very cold and fresh. Yeah, that’s a requirement. A lot of places in town has warm or skunky tap beer. Hard Times replaces their lines and you get a good beer. There are specials on just about every night of the week and their happy hour is $ 2 for a large glass of beer. It’s more than a pint.
The food: I hear so many people say the chili is the best. I don’t get that. I find it very subpar, especially for a chili place. Their Texas chili is greasy. Other options are Cincinatti, Terlingua Red and Veggie. I prefer th e Terlingua as it’s like normal chili. Others prefer Cincinatti as it has a cinnamon flavor. I don’t like a bowl of chili from this place. I find it boring. I do like it on top of something like a frito pie or a chili dog. The chili mac is the best.
Also, they always have a food special happening. Some better than others. They have a burger night on Mondays and the burgers are very good. It’s all-​you-​can-​eat chili on Tuesdays. I once ate a bowl and they gave me another to go which I took home and put on my own spaghetti. Wednesday’s is wing night. Their wings are just ok. They don’t suck but you won’t rave about them.
The service at the bar is great. Bartenders are cool and they serve you quickly. They pay attention to their customers. Service at the tables is iffy, usually on the bad side of iffy. They girls are hired more for their looks than their waiting skills. But I must say, often their looks make up for it.
It’s a great place to watch a game. Sometimes there are bands, some good and some not so good. They have a blues band every Tuesday which is sort of an open mic blues thing. Biggest problem with that is you always hear the same songs. Sundays is karaōke and it’s usually brutal to sit through that.
I recommend Hard Times, unless you’re a non smoker, for a place to hang out at night, or during the day, and having a beer.

This is based purely on service since I didn’t eat anything that night. A group of us decided to meet up here for a few drinks and smoke a couple of cigars. I was the last to arrive, and after a long day at work, I was looking for to a cold beer. Once I sat down I immediately starting looking for the server so I could get me a beer. I sat and waited for her to come over (5 – 10 min.) she finally comes over and gets my order. Once my order was placed I can say the beer came out pretty quick but after that she was gone again. Beer glass is empty and here I am again looking for my server. Long story short, not too many places to hang out here in Fredericksburg that will allow you to smoke, so we have to get in where we can fit in. But the service was terrible. 2 stars for allowing cigar smokers. That is all.